


My soul belongs to you

by ReignMyWorld



Category: Professional Wrestling, Roman Reigns - Fandom, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, F/M, Greek Mythology AU, alternative universe, greek underworld au, roman reigns angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-10-26 12:25:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17745878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReignMyWorld/pseuds/ReignMyWorld
Summary: You are a barista at Starbucks, having noticed that there is a customer visiting that coffee shop on a regular basis, but although you have seen him several times already, all you know is his name: Roman. One day your life takes a turn for the worst when you receive a fatal call, telling you that your sister is fighting for her life. You are willing to give your own life in exchange for hers, you are willing to give everything to save her. Little do you know that someone was listening to you, someone was willing to save your sister’s soul and take yours instead. And you soon have to figure out that there is more to this world than you would have ever believed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Please note that this story takes place in a Greek Mythology respectively Greek Underworld AU, also in modern times (hard to explain, see for yourselves :D). So please bear with me if I mess up with the accuracy somewhere. :-) 
> 
> Warnings: angst
> 
> Pairing: Roman Reigns x Reader
> 
> Originally published here: https://reignmyworld.tumblr.com/post/179195371089/my-soul-belongs-to-you-part-1-roman-reigns-x

„Okay, so who gets the Pumpkin Spice Latte?“, you wanted to know, trying to somehow make yourself heard over all of the noises, that were present in the coffee shop currently. You loved your job, you really did, but sometimes being a barista at Starbucks could be quite challenging. Especially when it was a beautiful day like today and the majority of the students from the nearby university decided to skip lectures and spend their day outside instead. The coffee shop was way too occupied for its own good and while you somehow kept your nerves calm, trying your best not to mess up any orders, your colleague was less lucky as he somehow tried to keep up the pace, forgetting to note names here and there, making it hard for you to hand out the orders to their rightful owners. You probably would have lost it by now if you hadn’t a rather chilled personality. 

„I’m waiting for a Mocca Frappuccino“, a young woman exclaimed and on the inside you couldn’t help but roll your eyes as you knew that she had ordered it barely a minute ago. „Yes and I’m making sure that you’re getting it once it is ready. Right now I need to get rid off the Pumpkin Spice Latte first.“, you explained calmly as you still held the drink in your hands while you looked around. The worst thing that could happen was, that you had to throw it away because you thought that whoever had ordered it had already left. If said person would appear just seconds later, trying to collect their drink it would mean that you would have to pay it out of your own pocket and you really didn’t feel like doing so, just because it was pure chaos right now. „I really would like to have that Mocca Frappuccino now.“, the young woman from before exclaimed as you were shooting her an annoyed look. 

Before you could answer, however, you heard a deep voice saying: „Excuse me, but would you let me pass? My drink seems to be ready.“ You didn’t even have to look to know who that was, especially when judging the expression of that woman, that had been so persistent before. Her jaw immediately dropped as she was taking in his sight and you couldn’t really blame her. She was stuttering an excuse, stepping out of the way. He was tall, his hair long and pitch black, his eyes dark brown almost the color of amethyst, his face was perfect and so was his whole figure, not to mention the huge foreign tattoo, that was covering his arm. You knew that your colleague had a huge crush on him, telling you again and again how it should be illegal that a guy looked that hot and you had to admit that he was indeed attractive. However, it was not primarily his physical appearance but rather the aura enclosing him, that made people turn their heads. Although he was always friendly and polite, you couldn’t help but think that there something dangerous and mysterious surrounding him as stupid as this might sound. You couldn’t even name it but something about him pushed you away and draw you nearer at the same time. He was like one of those mysterious strangers novels would tell about, someone full of mysteries and secrets, that wanted to be explored, although he probably knew damn well how to hide them. Yes, you certainly could understand why everyone was turning their head as soon as he passed and why people seemed to be speechless when he talked to them. 

Since you were a rather rational person you thought that it was amusing. Of course, he was attractive but he certainly was no god. You had the pleasure of serving him from time to time as he was a regular guest. He was not much of a talker but whenever he placed his orders he was always polite and patient, even if it took longer to get his order like today. You had to chuckle as you were imagining how you would tell your colleague, that was crushing on him, that he was here again today, knowing how she would pity herself that she had taken a day off, absolutely in disbelief once you would tell her that your colleague forgot his name. A name she always associated with an ancient emperor, that had left this earth centuries ago - Roman. You smiled at him as he was standing in front of you, holding out his drink to him, saying: „Here you go. One Pumpkin Spice Latte, still hot just as it should be.“ You heard his deep chuckle as he was reaching out for it, slightly touching your fingers as he was taking it from you. „Thank you. It’s kind of packed today, isn’t it?“, he said, taking a sip from his coffee, causing you to laugh out loud as you answered: „Just a little, but hey it could be worse. No-one could be here and the cash point could be empty at the end of the day. I would assume that my boss rather has this scenario here than the other one.“ 

„Yeah probably. That’s the spirit.“, he winked at you before he said his goodbye, making his way out of the crowded coffee shop. Just as you thought, basically every head turned round as soon as he passed. You wondered whether this must disturb him, basically drawing attention like an animal in the zoo, but before you could think of it in more detail, you were given the next cup of coffee. You peeked at it, realizing that it was the Mocca Frappuccino that annoying woman had been asking for. You held it out to her, saying: „Here’s your drink. You’re lucky that you didn’t have to wait for so long.“ She was blinking for a few moments, making the impression as if she had just awoken from a dream. Her hand was slightly shaking as she reached out for the drink hence why you asked: „Are you alright?“ She nodded her head, her voice barely more than a whisper as she wanted to know: „Who was he?“ 

„The guy, that picked up his Pumpkin Spice Latte?“, you asked with her nodding her head. You chuckled a little before you answered: „Just a regular customer. I know as much as you.“ 

„But I know nothing about him.“ 

„Exactly, me neither.“ You could see that she didn’t really like that information and without a further word she moved over to her friends. You shook your head rather amused, not really sure whether it was due to her behavior or due to him obviously bewitching everyone as soon as he appeared.  

After your shift was done, you said goodbye to your colleagues before you headed home. It was a rather chilly evening, not much had been left of the sun, that was warming the earth during the day. It was a typical fall evening, the sun had set already and it was drizzling slightly. You didn’t even notice it too much as your thoughts traveled to Roman. You had seen him quite some time before, exchanging a few words here and there while he was placing his order and waiting for it to be done. He was always charming and polite and from how he expressed himself you gathered the impression that he was rather well-spoken. However, when that young woman asked you who he was, you had to admit to yourself, that you had no idea. Working as a barista, it was actually rather easy for you to find yourself trapped in conversations with guests, especially if they were regular ones. A few of them had even become good friends and most of the time you knew more about your regular guests than just their names. Roman, however, was different. You never saw him in any company. There were never friends he would appear with like a lot of other groups did. You never even saw him talk to anyone except those few words with you and your colleagues. Whenever he came, he would just sit at one of the single tables, all by himself, reading a book, having his coffee, before he would leave again. He really was a complete mystery and you had no idea what to make out of it. Especially since you were actually really good when it came to reading people, but this man…he was like a book with seven seals. You simply couldn’t read him. You spent way too many thoughts with regard to that stranger and as you reached your apartment, you were sure of one thing. You probably could never read him and you shouldn’t even try to either. You were shaking your head over your behavior as you entered your apartment, deciding that you should occupy your thoughts with different things than a regular guest at the coffee shop, that nevertheless was as mysterious as he could possibly be. 

You had managed to get through another week of stress at work and were facing your second day now of your days off. You knew that you should probably do all the things you wouldn’t do otherwise but the truth was, you loved spending time at the coffee shop although you weren’t working any shifts there currently. You just loved the atmosphere as it was like a second home and while you weren’t working you just enjoyed going there, talking to random people, drinking your coffee and eating your cake, before you would continue with your day. Therefore it basically was no big surprise that you entered the coffee shop on your second day off, already hearing your colleagues’ amused voices as they were greeting you. „You’re aware that you don’t have to work for the next week, don’t you?“, Abby wanted to know as you playfully hit her, laughing: „Yeah I know. I guess I’m just missing you people way too much to stay away from here. But I promise that I won’t make my own coffee but I will order one like the good customer I am.“ You placed your order, waiting for your coffee to be done and just as you wanted to pay, Abby winked at you, saying: „Don’t worry, it’s free. I mean we can’t charge one of our own, can we?“ You smiled at her as you said: „You’re the best.“ before you took your coffee and your piece of cake, heading to your favorite corner, that was rather secluded and gave you some privacy. 

You made yourself comfortable there, grabbing the book from your bag, that you had brought along, opening the site, where you had stopped reading, taking a sip from your coffee. You were five pages into your book as you suddenly were startled out of your thoughts as a familiar voice asked you: „Do you mind if I sit down here and keep you company?“ You didn’t even have to think twice to know where that voice belonged to. As you were looking up, you were staring right into Roman’s face, He was wearing his usual leather jacket, his hair fell over his back while he was holding a cup of coffee in his hand, that he obviously had just bought. You had to admit that he indeed was beyond attractive and although you didn’t want to, you had to gulp. As he was waiting for your answer, you wanted to know absolutely surprised: „You want to keep me company? I thought you would prefer staying alone.“ He gave you one irresistible smile as he answered: „Well from time to time I’m making exceptions. Of course, I don’t want to bother you, so if you want to stay all by yourself, that’s perfectly fine.“ 

You must have stared at him as if he was one of the seven world wonders, immediately scolding yourself. „Goddammit, he’s a dude like everyone else. Stop staring at him as if he was heaven sent“, you thought to yourself as you already heard yourself say: „No, please have a seat. Company is always welcome.“ 

You took your bag from the chair opposite of you so he could sit down. You couldn’t help but realize how good he was smelling while you studied his face. You couldn’t even tell how old he was but you definitely could say that his face lit up when he was smiling like that, losing something of the dangerous, mysterious aura, that was surrounding him otherwise. „What are you reading?“, Roman wanted to know as he was peeking at your book. You held it up so he could read the title „Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes.“ He crooked an eyebrow, wanting to know: „Are you into stuff like that?“ You just shrugged your shoulders as you explained: „Let’s just say that I find it kind of interesting, but I couldn’t even tell you why. Probably because no-one can tell whether there is the slightest truth to them or not.“ You smiled at him as he was nodding his head before he held his hand out to you, introducing himself: „I’m Roman Reigns.“ 

„And you obviously haven’t fallen…“ , you said without thinking twice, immediately regretting that stupid joke, as the Roman Empire and its civilization from your book came to your mind. Roman, however, had to laugh as he answered: „Obviously not, but that was a good one.“ You had to grin as you shook his hand, saying: „I’m Y/N.“ 

„So Y/N… it’s kind of strange to not see you behind the cash point but here instead.“ 

„Yeah I know, my colleagues have already told me the same. Actually I’m having a few days off but I just love the atmosphere here, hence why I came around. It’s like an addiction, I just can’t do without.“, you smiled at him, causing him to chuckle before you added: “You’re a pretty regular guest here yourself. Why so?” He had to laugh as he replied: “I would say basically for the same reasons, the atmosphere here is great, the coffee is delicious and staff is absolutely polite. You just have to feel comfortable here.”  
   
“That’s what I’m saying.” You grinned. Out of the corner of your eye you saw your friend, that was crushing on Roman, with a jealous look on her face. You felt kind of bad, that you were sitting here with him, engaged in a conversation but if you were honest, you enjoyed his company. It turned out that he was not only a great talker and storyteller but an even better listener. You couldn’t even say how long you had been sitting here with him, talking about all those random things, that came to your and his mind quite alike. It turned out that you had a lot in common, you appreciated the same movies, the same music, you even figured that you had read a lot of the same books, that you were discussing now. Even generally speaking you had a lot of point of views, that you shared and you had to admit that you enjoyed spending time with him. You still had the feeling, that there was something beyond the surface, that he hadn’t told you about him, that you were basically able to open one or two seals but you still couldn’t read him. You were sure that there was more to him than he let you know, although you had no idea how you should explain that. It was basically like an intuition kind of thing and although you initially told yourself that you wouldn’t dig deeper, you already saw that resolution vanish. You couldn’t help that you wanted to figure out who exactly he was and why this aura of danger was surrounding him. 

You were still trapped in a conversation with him when you heard Abby‘s voice: „Y/N, I know that your work is your second home, but we are closing. I rather not have you stay here so you have to sleep here. I’m really sorry but I’m having to ask the both of you to leave.“ You took a look at your watch and much to your surprise you realized that you must have talked to Roman for hours although you didn’t even notice how those have passed by.  Roman was getting up, holding his hand out to you. You looked at him in surprise. That man really was one big walking secret. No matter how many dates you had until now - and this wasn’t even one - none of those guys ever thought it was necessary to be all gentleman. And yet there was this tall, mysterious man, that you had talked to for the last hours yet you still felt like you basically knew nothing about him, increasing the mystery surrounding him even more. You smiled up at him as you took his hand while he helped you to your feet. 

„I didn’t want to waste so much of your time, I’m sorry for that. But it was nice talking to you, I really enjoyed it.“, he said, his deep voice soothing you.  He was still holding your hand and you didn’t really feel the urge of that sweet gesture to end. You just shook your head, smiling up at him as you answered: „Don’t be silly, you didn’t waste my time. I enjoyed the last hours. Thank you for keeping me company.“ 

„Anytime.“, he smiled and you once again had to admit how stunning he looked. „Do you want me to bring you home?“, Roman wanted to know and you thought about it for a moment. It sounded tempting but you didn’t really know a lot about him. After all, he could have been a psychopath as well. Since you were actually pretty good with reading people, you trusted your instincts. They didn’t warn you, of course not, but you were quite concerned that you haven’t figured him out yet, hence why you shook your head, saying: „That’s nice but I think I walk alone.“ He nodded his head amused, finally letting go of your hand as he said: „Sure, just make sure that you arrive there safe. Till next time, Y/N. Have a great evening.“ 

„Thank you, have a great evening yourself.“, you said and with one last smile, he was turning around, leaving the coffee shop, while you and your colleagues stayed behind, all of you rather bedazzled. „Wow, I guess you are the first person he ever talked to.“, Abby said and you couldn’t tell whether she was amazed or annoyed that it wasn’t her in your position. „Lucky me, huh?“, you joked, exchanging a few words with her before you said your goodbyes as well. 

Your next free days were rather unspectacular although you caught yourself how your thoughts travelled to Roman from time to time, asking yourself when you would see him again - not that you were waiting for it, of course not. 

Work had you back for almost a week already when you received the most horrific phone call, you could have imagined. It was rather early when your mom had been calling you and of course you didn’t think anything about it since it was not exactly uncommon that she would ring you early to invite you for dinner, asking you what she should cook for you, telling you how she and your father would be looking forward to seeing you. As soon as you answered the call, however, you knew that it was different this time, as you barely understood her since she was crying so hard. „Mom… mom… please try to calm down. I can barely understand a word you are saying.“, you tried your best to somehow calm her. Your gut feeling turned bad instantly as you tried to make sense of her words, way too afraid to figure out what she wanted to tell you at the same time. „Your sister.. she…“, you heard your mom and your heart instantly sank. 

Your little sister was the most important person in your life next to your parents. When she was a kid, you promised her that you would always be there for her, that you would always protect her and you had stuck to that promise all the way through kindergarten, school and college. You were only one and a half years apart, telling each other anything. You were not only sisters but also best friends and learning now that something has happened to her, brought you to your knees. Your whole body was shaking as you sat down on your bed, listening to your mother’s words. Tears were filling your eyes as you expected her to say the most horrific words, you could probably hear: „Your sister is dead.“ You didn’t want to hear them, you knew that you couldn’t bear it, but at the same time you needed to know what had happened, needed to know what happened to your sister. 

„Is she…?“ , you whispered, your voice shaking tremendously. You had to gulp hard before you could complete your sentence: „Is she dead?“ Your mother was crying uncontrollably and you thought that this was answer enough. Just as your emotions threatened to overwhelm you, you heard your mother say: „She’s fighting for her life, Y/N. But it doesn’t look good. The doctors said that her chances are pretty low and that we should try to wrap our heads around the possibility that she has to leave us.“ You could barely listen as you were crying so hard. You had no idea how long you were on the phone but eventually you heard the whole story. Your sister was on her way to her boyfriend via bicycle when a drunk driver didn’t pay attention, crashing into her. Although she had been rushed to the hospital right away, her injuries - especially the internal ones - were pretty severe. She had to undergo emergency surgery but the doctors nevertheless had to place her in an artificial coma. It was mostly the machines surrounding her, that kept her alive, but although the doctors didn’t give her a lot of chance to survive, your parents were not willing to let them shut down the life-supporting devices. 

You called in sick that day, rushing to the hospital as fast as you could. Your head was spinning and yet you were completely numb on the inside. All you knew was, that your sister couldn’t leave like that, it couldn’t be her time to leave this world. You spent hours at her side, holding her hand, shedding countless tears. You prayed that she would make it, prayed that you could take her position but you knew that you couldn’t do anything, couldn’t bring her back as she had to fight for herself. When you left the hospital that evening, you leaned down to her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, whispering: „Don’t worry sunshine, I’ll protect you. I promise you I won’t let you go, it is not your time to leave this world. I love you, don’t you ever forget that.“


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: angst 
> 
> Originally published here: https://reignmyworld.tumblr.com/post/179877022754/my-soul-belongs-to-you-part-2-roman-reigns-x

You were living through the next days as if you were wrapped in cotton. You didn’t really pay attention to who came to buy coffee, you didn’t feel like contributing to the conversations of your colleagues, you didn’t want to answer their questions regarding your sister. You felt completely numb, trying to make it from one day to the next, always fearing that this one fatal call would come and the doctors or your parents would inform you that your sister had passed away. Your boss had talked to you, had told you that you could take a few days off, that you should stay at home or should stay by your sister’s side but you just couldn’t. You appreciated his offer but it would have driven you insane sitting at home or in the hospital, knowing that there was nothing you could do, that there was no way you could have helped. No… Staying at home wasn’t an option. 

You went to work, trying to occupy your mind, trying to think of anything else but your sister fighting for survival. You actually thought that you would be alright that day, that you could keep your composure but as hours went by, you realized that you would fail. You were snapping at customers, that complained about you right afterwards, you mixed up some orders and most of all, you could feel that you were close to tearing up. You didn’t have to be an expert to know that you were close to a mental breakdown and you knew that you needed to get out of the coffee shop, at least for a few minutes. You needed to be by yourself, needed to be alone, needed to sort your thoughts. You knew that you could count on your colleagues as you were informing them that you needed to halt your shift, returning as soon as you felt like doing so. 

They told you that it was alright, that you should take as much time as you needed. You were beyond grateful when you headed to the backyard, sitting down on one of the stairs there and just let your tears fall as soon as you were alone. You were crying uncontrollably, not being able to stop as fear completely overwhelmed you that your sister might not make it, that you would never be able to talk to her again, to laugh with her one more time, to hold her while she was crying due to a stupid fight she had with her boyfriend. You were feeling this deep emptiness and you had absolutely no idea how you should handle it, how could should go on. You didn’t want to think about her being gone, but your thoughts automatically went there, making you cry even harder, devastation completely having its grip on you.   
You had no idea how long you were sitting there, crying your eyes out, forgetting about the world around you completely. You didn’t even notice that you weren’t alone anymore as someone was sitting down next to you. 

You suddenly heard a deep familiar voice, that was full of compassion, as it said: „If you want to talk about it, whatever bothers you, I’m here to listen.“ You recognized that voice as Roman’s, turning your head to your right, watching him out of a mist of tears. You felt his warmth radiating from him and no matter how shaken you were, his mere presence somehow helped you to calm down. You didn’t know whether you should open up to him, since he basically was still a stranger, but you somehow trusted him, although it was hard to explain. You sobbed as you whispered: “My sister… she… She’s at the hospital and it doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.” Having said it out loud caused you to cry harder once again. Usually you didn’t tend to show your emotions that easy in front of people but with regard to your sister you just couldn’t help it, you needed to let it all out. 

Roman’s face was full of compassion as he reached out to you, not really caring that he still was basically a stranger to you, pulling you closer as you cried against his shoulder. “She will be alright.”, he whispered, his hand gently trailing over your arm while his chin rested on your head. You shook your head. You wanted to believe it, you prayed for it and yet you were sure that it was all just a beautiful illusion. You had talked to the doctors, you knew how severe her injuries were and you knew that it was the machines keeping her alive at this point and the machines only. “No, she won’t.”, you sobbed, your voice shaking with every word as you added, your voice nothing more but a whisper: “She is basically dead already.” Having said it out loud caused you to cry even harder. You never wanted to say those words, never wanted to say them out loud, but you just couldn’t help it. No matter how hard you had tried to hold on to hope, you saw it fading in front of your eyes, being replaced by a deep and endless emptiness. You knew that you were right, knew that you would have to say your final goodbye to her, although you weren’t ready for it. It shouldn’t be her, having to take her last breath. It should be you. You would give everything to swap places with her, to keep your promise of always keeping her save no matter what, but you knew that you couldn’t. You felt that Roman’s presence had a calming effect on you although he just held you close, giving you the feeling as if nothing could hurt you. “I would give my soul for her.” 

“Would you really?”, you heard Roman’s deep voice, making you flinch slightly. You were not aware that you had said that aloud, thinking that it was only a thought and although you found it strange that he asked, you moved away a little bit from him, so you could lock eyes with him. He seemed to be seriously interested in your answer and you figured that maybe he had no-one important in his life, no-one he would give his life for hence why he wanted to know whether you were serious. You could see the compassion on his face and you were quite sure that he could feel how much this whole situation pained you. You whipped the tears from your eyes, slightly nodding your head, whispering: “Yes I would. If I could, I would give my soul, I would give my life to save my sister. You know… I had promised her to keep her safe ever since we were kids, to always be there for her, to always protect her. Seeing her like this now, knowing that she’s on the edge of dying…” You had to interrupt yourself since you were tearing up once again and it took you a few moments until you had somehow regained your composure so you were able to say: “If I could I would give my everything. I would give up my life for her. I would head into the deepest depths of hell if that meant that she would make it. But I can’t. And that rips me apart emotionally." 

You knew how broken you sounded, how desperate you were, but you didn’t care. Your whole world had shattered the moment you received your mom’s phone call and you knew that you weren’t able to pick up the pieces of your life, not as long as your sister was in the state she was currently in. Roman looked at you what felt like an eternity, not saying anything, just studying your face. You probably should have felt uncomfortable under his intense gaze but you didn’t, quite the contrary, it actually calmed you. He was sending out an aura of peace, a feeling of the deep knowledge that everything would be alright in the end, that there would be nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. 

The next thing you remembered was hat you felt his rough palm on your cheek before his soft lips gently touched yours in a sweet kiss. You had no idea what was happening, but as fast as his lips touched yours as fast they were gone again, leaving nothing but a slight tingle, a mere memory of whether that had really happened or not. Your cheeks were still wet from the tears you had cried as you searched in his dark eyes for an answer. He didn’t explain it, he didn’t say much, only one sentence, that you couldn’t really grasp, one sentence, that you couldn’t really understand: "Your sister won’t die. You have just saved her.” You wanted to ask what he meant, wanted to ask how you possibly could have saved her, but before you had the chance to do so, he gave you one last reassuring grab on your shoulder, before he got up, smiling down at you. You blinked up at him in confusion but before you had a chance to ask him, before you had a chance to demand an explanation, he was already saying: “I mean it Y/N. Your sister will be alright. I hope you don’t take it as impolite but I unfortunately have to excuse myself now. I will see you the next time I’m getting my coffee and I’m sure that the world will look brighter then." 

With that he turned around, leaving the backyard you were still sitting in. You were way too surprised to act and think clearly, way too surprised to process anything that had just happened. You had no idea how much time it took you to get up, how much time it took to rush to the passage that led to the main street, but once you reached it, you had to realize that Roman was gone and you had no idea which way he had headed to. You shook your head, trying to make sense of any of this, but you couldn’t, no matter how much you tried. You noticed that you were extremely calm, that you felt an inner peace and without being able to say why this would be the case, you returned back to your work, reassuring your colleagues that everything was fine, that you were okay and that you could continue your shift. Your thoughts were traveling back to Roman, reciting his words again and again and although you knew that it was just a beautiful dream, you somehow had the gut feeling that he was correct, that everything would be alright although your mind tried to tell you that you shouldn’t get lost in your false hope. 

You made it to the end of your shift without any further breakdown, without tearing up again. Your friends tried to convince you that you should have dinner with them this evening, that you should allow yourself to think of something else than your sister but you declined. You just couldn’t. Even if you weren’t on the edge of losing your nerves any second anymore, it just didn’t feel right to head out with your friends while your sister was still fighting for her survival. 

You were completely trapped in your thoughts that evening when you headed home, allowing yourself to think of that beautiful dream of your sister surviving, of her being the same like she had been before, of her being able to continue her life as if nothing had happened and just the pure thought of it made you smile. 

When you reached your home you took something to eat from the fridge, Roman’s words still spooking through your head. You still had no explanation for his behavior, still didn’t know why he was so sure about your sister making it, but you believed him. You knew that it was irrational, that it didn’t make any sense, that it was naive to trust a stranger about something so important like that…. But the way he had said it… You had no explanation for it. All you knew was, that he sounded sincere, that he sounded honest. And although you didn’t know him, didn’t know anything more about him than those bits and pieces he wanted you to know, you just wouldn’t assume that he would be someone to play with your emotions like that, to get a kick out of seeing you suffer. No, it just didn’t fit the impression you had from him, although you weren’t able to read him like an open book. 

Being trapped in your thoughts completely, you slightly flinched as you heard the phone’s ringing. You peeked at the display and your heart automatically sank when you realized that it was the hospital calling. The peace, you had felt before, was gone immediately as you reached out for the phone, answering the call, your voice barely more than a whisper: "Yes, hello?” You heard the familiar voice of one of the doctors, that you had talked to before in the hospital several times, as he said: “Miss Y/L/N? I’m calling because of your sister.“

You felt how you instantly turned numb, how you were automatically bracing yourself for the worst news you could possibly receive. You sat down as you awaited to hear that your sister had died. It took you moments to realize that this wasn’t what you were told. "Miss Y/L/N are you still there?”, the doctor wanted to know with you mumbling something you didn’t really understand yourself. You tried to focus again, tried to think of nothing else but what you had just been told as you asked: “How?” There was a short pause before he said: “I have no idea. I have never seen something like that before nor have my colleagues. If I would believe in miracles, I think I would call it one. She’s woken up from the coma and she is barely hurting. It’s like she had been healed within the last hours. I’m honest with you Miss Y/L/N. We have no idea what all of this means, we have no idea how to explain it, but your sister made it. Judging from the state she is in, she has survived and she’s not at any risk anymore. She is resting currently, having fallen asleep shortly after we had informed her where she was. She seems to have almost no memory of what had happened and we decided that it would be best if we didn’t tell her. All we said was, that she had an accident and that she had to be taken to the hospital for a few routine checkups. If you want to, you can visit her tomorrow in the morning already. She had already asked for you and apparently can’t wait to see you." 

You were at a loss for words, had no idea what you should say. Relief and joy were washing over you as you thanked the doctor from the bottom of your heart for what seemed to the most beautiful call you had received in your entire life. All you could do was stay at the table, your head buried in your hands as you cried countless tears - this time due to joy instead of pain ,however. You still could not believe that your sister made it, that she miraculously had survived and obviously was recovering just fine. You heard Roman’s words once again, his voice more present in your head than ever before: ” Your sister won’t die. You have just saved her.“ You had no idea what all of this meant. Assuming that your conversation with him and the result you had just received from the hospital had anything to do with each other was hair-brained and you knew it. Maybe he just was a firm believer of people rising above their own limits if they had to, maybe it was just a lucky guess, maybe he just wanted to lift your spirits. But he sure as hell wouldn’t be able to work wonders. So all of this, was - had to be - just a sheer coincide but you didn’t care. Whatever it was, you couldn’t care less if the result stayed the same: Your sister survived, she would still be here, she would be able to return home to her boyfriend and whatever the reason behind that was, you would be forever grateful. For the first time in days you went to bed this night without crying yourself to sleep. 

The next morning you sent your boss a short message that you would come later, telling him about the miracle that had happened. Just seconds later, he offered you that you could have the day off if you wanted to, but you decided that you would go nevertheless. Your sister probably wouldn’t want to have visitors the whole day as she still needed to rest, but you wanted to spend the morning by her side. It didn’t take you long to get to the hospital, your spirits as high as they hadn’t been in a long time. You carefully knocked on the door to her room once you’ve reached it and her "Come in” was the best thing you had heard in a long time. You stepped into the room, a huge smile on your face. Your sister was sitting on her bed, enjoying the breakfast ,that had been brought to her, and you couldn’t believe how healthy she looked like. There was nothing left from the woman that was close to dying. 

“Hey sweetheart, how are you?”, you wanted to know as you stepped closer, battling the tears of joy, that wanted to fall down on your cheeks. Your sister was smiling up at you as she said: “There you are Y/N. I’m glad to see you. I’m fine although I still have no real clue what had happened to me. The doctors told me that I am here for a check up after an accident, but it feels like this isn’t the whole truth although I can’t really remember anything.” Y/S/N was looking at you with big eyes, obviously hoping that you could explain to her why she was here for real. You were sitting down next to her bed, playing for some time as you were not quite sure whether you should indeed tell her as you had no idea whether it would freak her out and cause her condition to turn bad again. 

So you just decided to talk with her about irrelevant stuff like your work, how her studies were going, how your dad had managed to drop a brick once again… You had never been as happy as in that moment to hear her heartfelt laugh, to see the joy on her face and you thanked every possible god, that was listening, that your sister was sitting here safe and sound. You couldn’t even say how much time you had spent there with her, but as you realized that she was getting tired, that she probably needed to rest, you got ready to leave, to give her the time she needed. 

Before you could get up, however, she held your hand, wanting to know: “Y/N? You had promised me that you would always be honest with me when we were kids. What has happened with me?” You locked eyes with her, studying her face. You and your sister were so much alike and you knew that telling her anything else but the truth was a lost battle, even if the doctors thought that it would be better to spare her the details. So you told her anything, told her about the car accident, told her about the life supporting devices, that kept her alive, told her that the doctors had told you and your parents, that you should have to accept that she wouldn’t survive. You had no idea how she would take it but much to your surprise she was rather calm about it. You could tell that something was occupying her mind, something she wanted to tell you but nevertheless was hesitant about it at first. You gave her the time she needed, trying to hide the little chuckle as soon as she said: “I know this sounds completely retarded but there was an angel by my side. I mean here in the room, shortly before I woke up." 

"An angel? Sweetheart, you must have dreamt or something like that. You never believed in things, that couldn’t be seen. I bet there was no-one here. The doctors would have told us if there was someone visiting you other than our parents, your boyfriend or myself and they certainly didn’t."   
"I’m not making that up, Y/N and I certainly haven’t dreamt it. He was there and he had told me that I have to wake up, told me that you saved me.” You couldn’t help but crook your eyebrow at her words. You knew that your sister was an extremely rational person, so you assumed that it was the pain killers, she had to take, that made her see things that weren’t there. You slightly shook your head as you said: “It doesn’t matter what it was as long as you are still here.” You bowed down to her, placing a little kiss on her head before you turned for the door, promising her that you would visit her the next day. 

However, before you could leave, you stopped in the door, wanting to know from her: “That angel you were talking about? How did it look like? Like pure light?” You had no idea why you were asking her, but something urged you to do so. You told yourself that you simply wanted to give her the feeling that you believed her, even if it sounded completely insane. She was smiling at you as she answered: “Not at all. He was handsome. Tall, toned, his voice was like velvet, his eyes almost as black as his hair that fell over his back. And he had a huge tattoo covering his whole arm." 

You were sure that your expression must have been pretty shocked as you suddenly heard a familiar voice inside of your head: ” Your sister won’t die. You have just saved her.“ You knew who she was talking about, of course you did, but that was simply impossible. You wanted to answer something but you realized that your sister had already fallen asleep. Once again you shook your head as you closed the door, leaving the hospital, trying to make sense of that all. You had no idea what was going on but you were determined to figure it out, no matter what it took.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: angst
> 
> Originally published here: https://reignmyworld.tumblr.com/post/180498909681/my-soul-belongs-to-you-part-3-roman-reigns-x

The next days you felt a terrible nervousness although you couldn’t really say why. Your sister had been released from the hospital by now, doing perfectly fine and all in all your life went the exact way it should. Nothing uncommon happened at work or in your private life. But there was still that tiny little voice in the back of your mind, that reminded you of your sister’s words. You knew that it couldn’t be, knew that she must have had hallucinated or something like that but that didn’t explain how she could have given you that rather detailed description of Roman. You wanted to confront him about it, although you had no idea what you should say to him in order to not sound like a maniac. The strange thing, however, was that you hadn’t seen him in the coffee shop throughout the last days, which was pretty uncommon since he was a rather regular customer. 

You were completely trapped in your thoughts when you heard a familiar voice, that you had waited for, but hadn’t hoped to hear, suddenly say: “One Pumpkin Spice Latte Grande please.” For a moment you thought that he could have heard your thoughts and appeared due to that before you pushed those thoughts away. You looked at him, a small smile on your face as you said: “There you are. We had already started missing you around here. Give me a few minutes and you will have your drink.” Roman winked at you as he answered: “It’s okay Y/N, take your time. I’m in no rush." 

"How about you secure a seat and I bring you the coffee as soon as it is done? As a little thank you basically for lifting my spirits the last time I had seen you?”, you wanted to know with him answering: “Sounds like a great plan to me.” With that he walked over to the tables as you studied his appearance. There was no doubt that your sister had described him although you had no idea why. Maybe she had seen him before somewhere and since he kind of stuck on one’s head once they had seen him, maybe she was just making it up, maybe she had been dreaming of him and had therefore confused dream with reality? It sounded like the most plausible explanation and you would have believed it right away if your sister hadn’t sounded so sure, so convinced. Eventually, you would find out what all of that meant, you were rather determined with regard to that. 

As his coffee was done, you moved over to the secluded area he was sitting, a book in his hands. You placed the coffee in front of him, saying: “Here you go, your Pumpkin Spice Latte is ready.” He smiled up at you, answering: “Thank you, Y/N.” You were peeking at the cover of his book and with a tiny smile you wanted to know: “So have I inspired you to grab a copy of „Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes.“?” You could hear his deep chuckle as he replied: “To be honest, I already had it at home before I saw you reading it. What shall I say? It’s interesting." 

"Absolutely”, you smiled before you wanted to know: “Do you mind if I sit down with you for a moment?"  He gestured you to take a seat, saying: "Absolutely not. Please go ahead.” You sat down on his opposite, taking the sugar bowl in front of you and automatically started playing with it. You searched for the right words before you said: “I just wanted to thank you for listening to me back then in the backyard. It felt good to talk about it with someone, that is not personally involved, and it really helped.” You gave him a sincere smile as his face lit up. He put away his book as he replied: “You are very welcome. I’m just sorry that you had to deal with all of that. How’s your sister doing?” Did you imagine it or was there a knowing expression on his face for a brief second? 

“It’s like a wonder. She’s doing well. She had been released from the hospital already although the doctors were so convinced that she wouldn’t survive. And yet she barely has a scratch left." 

"I’m really happy to hear that." 

"Yeah me too.”, you thought about it for a second, thought whether you should tell him or not, but in the end you were way too curious for his reaction, hence why you added: “And she is obviously convinced that you are an angel.“ You were studying his face as a confused expression appeared on it only to be replaced by a rather amused one seconds later. "Me? How do I fit into this whole story?”, he wanted to know amused. You couldn’t help but grin as you let him know: „Well, she is convinced that an angel told her that she has to wake up. An angel she described as - and let me quote her on that - handsome, tall, toned, a voice like velvet,  eyes almost as black as his hair that fell over his back and a huge tattoo covering his whole arm. I have no idea how she came up with that but it sounded a lot like you.“ You heard his amused chuckle as he shook his head, stating: "I may be a lot but definitely no angel. Although I’m feeling kind of flattered that she apparently dreamt about someone that somehow equals me." 

"Yeah what a coincidence, right?”, you agreed, trying to figure out whether he had something to hide. But just as always he seemed to be a book with its seals closed. You talked with him for a few more minutes before you had to excuse yourself, having to return to your shift. You still had no idea what to make out of everything, but believing that your sister had seen Roman before somewhere and simply dreamt of him kind of sounded like the only possible and plausible explanation for this whole scenario. 

You had promised your colleagues to close the shop and clean up for that day, having sent them home already. When you were alone, you closed the door, locking it, before you went to get everything, you needed to clean up. Just as you wanted to head for the back room, you slightly jumped as you heard a deep voice say quizzical: “I guess you have just locked me up in here.” You turned around to stare at Roman, mumbling: “My god you have scared me. I’m so sorry, I thought you had already left while I wasn’t looking.” He shook his head, offering an explanation: “No, I had just went to the bathroom." 

"I’m sorry. Here let me open the door for you. Locking you in certainly wasn’t my intention." 

"No need to be sorry. All is good. Besides that….”, he started before he paused himself. You didn’t know why but you had the impression that he was searching for the right words and whatever he wanted to say, didn’t seem to leave his lips too easy. “Yes?”, you wanted to know as your nervousness was kicking in again. He looked at you, a regretful expression on his face as he said: “I’m sorry, but it’s time to go." 

"Time to go?”, you were absolutely confused and couldn’t make any sense of that. What could he possibly mean? As he was not answering, you wanted to know: “What does time to go mean? Of course, it’s time to go. We’re already closed and no matter how great of a company you are, I would really like to be done here and head home afterwards.” Roman just shook his head and whatever he meant, you could tell that it was not easy for him. Although you were rather confused than scared, you couldn’t help but think of what if he turned out to be a complete psycho instead of that sweet guy you thought he was? “No, Y/N. That’s not what I mean… I really hate to do this but it kind of comes with the job. It is time to go, time for you to go, time for you to come with me.” You felt how anger was boiling inside of you. Was he insane? What the hell did that mean?! 

“What the hell are you talking about?”, you exclaimed with Roman explaining: “That day in the backyard, where you said that you would give your soul, would give your life for your sister’s. Well, I listened, I accepted your offer. I have told you that she will survive, that you saved her. But unfortunately things like that demand a sacrifice or rather a deal. Something you had placed, you had made, you had negotiated yourself. Your sister’s life against yours, your sister’s soul for your own. There are rules, that have to be followed and I already granted you more time than usual. But now… it’s time to go, time to continue your journey elsewhere.” You had no idea what was going on but all of this freaked you out way too much to stay serious. 

You were laughing hysterical as you said: “Okay fine you got me. I wouldn’t have thought that you could be such a jackass to play me like that but good job. Where are the hidden cameras or are you just getting a kick out of this whole scenario here?!” He was shaking his head, his expression rather sad now. By now you kind of panicked. You would have expected him to laugh out loud, would have expected him to tell you that it was all a damn joke, but he seemed so damn serious. You automatically had to think of his mysterious aura, of what you actually didn’t know about him, thought of how everyone seemed to be bedazzled as soon as he passed and although you didn’t want to, although you were aware how stupid that sounded, you wanted to know: “What are you?” He gave you a sad smile, answering: “Certainly not that angel your sister thought she had seen." 

Before you could stop yourself, you asked: "What then? The grim reaper?” He shook his head again but you were sure that you heard something like “Not quite.” Roman was reaching his hand out for you, saying: “Don’t be afraid, Y/N. I promise you that nothing bad will happen. But I need you to come with me now.” You had no idea why you didn’t turn around and ran, had no idea why you didn’t lock yourself in the backroom in order to call the police. Somehow you wanted to, you really did but it was as if your body wasn’t following your orders as your feet dragged you towards him. Before you could think twice your small hand vanished in his huge, rough palm and although you were sure that he could have grabbed you forcefully, his touch was gentle. 

You looked up at his face, that seemed as if he couldn’t do you any harm. His deep voice whispered: “I promise you it will be alright. There won’t be anything bad, there won’t be anything terrible. And I’m sure that you will understand that I’m not taking you with me because of evilness but because it’s how those things work.” Although you were shit scared, you somehow believed him, not even being able to tell why you did.

The next thing you remembered was that he was pulling you closer, that your body was suddenly pressed against his, his arms hugging you. You knew that you should push him away, that you should yell for help but you couldn’t. Not because you were too scared but because you felt way too protected, something you shouldn’t with what was going on. 

Suddenly everything turned dark, deep darkness surrounding the both of you, so that you couldn’t even see Roman anymore. You automatically held on to his body, being aware of every movement of his muscles under your palms. It was not long, barely some seconds, where you felt like you were floating, not being able to feel anything beneath you, until you finally stood on firm ground again. You pinched yourself, being quite sure that you were dreaming, that you just needed to wake up to find yourself lying in the comfort of your own bed, but it didn’t work. You were still in his arms while darkness was still surrounding you although it seemed as if it was fading bit by bit. “We’re here.”, you heard Roman’s deep voice while he was still holding you in his arms. You tried to figure out where you were, tried to make sense out of all of this but you couldn’t. Your first impression was that you were in a cave. There were stone walls surrounding you, only lit by some torches here and there. 

“This is the place you needed me to bring to?”, you couldn’t believe your eyes. He was giving you a tiny smile as he answered: “To be honest, it is the entrance. More or less.” You freed yourself from his embrace, studying his face as you wanted to know: “Who are you? And what does all of that mean? How the hell have we even come here?" 

"I’m offering you an explanation for all of this, I promise. I’m answering all your questions, I’m telling you who I am, but first come with me, so I can show you your new home.”, he said and although you had so many questions, although you wanted to smack him until he would have told you everything, you followed him. You knew that it was dumb, knew that you should be shit scared, but somehow you trusted him, trusted him that no-one would harm you. You didn’t even know where you took that knowledge from, didn’t know how you were so sure about it. 

Roman took one of the torches, gesturing to you that you should follow him as he was heading down what seemed like countless stairs. Once you reached their end you found yourself in a huge room, that was so high that you couldn’t even see the ceiling. You looked around, noticing that it was lit by thousands of torches. It was still rather dark, shadows were dancing everywhere and you couldn’t even tell where all of the walls were. You assumed that this must be the actual cave, that was bigger than your mind could grasp. You were hearing a noise that you couldn’t name. It sounded as if something big was breathing heavily. You automatically took a step closer to Roman, imagining the worst things already. Without thinking twice he was squeezing your hand shortly, whispering: “Don’t worry, he’s harmless. He’s just guarding the entrance, making sure that no one enters that shouldn’t enter and that no one leaves, that isn’t allowed to.” 

You tried to understand what he meant with that as you suddenly heard a low growl. Your head was following the direction of the noise, your eyes trying to figure out where it came from. It took you some moments to realize that the big dark figure you had seen before wasn’t a formation of rocks like you had assumed first. You realized that this thing was breathing, that it actually was a huge body. You automatically shivered as you eyed that creature in front of you, realizing slowly that you were staring at the huge body of a gigantic dog. A dog so big that it shouldn’t even exist. You guessed that it would be approximately  20 feet tall if it would be sitting instead of lying like it did now. You tried to process all of this but you realized that your brain avoided making sense out of it. 

As your eyes were following his body to his head, you shrieked as you realized that he had opened his eyes, staring directly at you. You shivered as you were staring into blood red orbs, that seemed to glow while sharp teeth were displayed at you. Suddenly there were more growls, first two then three, but instead of hearing them one after another, you heard them all at the same time. Roman must have felt, that you were shivering, as he placed an arm around your shoulder, mumbling: “Don’t worry Y/N, he won’t do anything to you.” In plain shock you watched how a second and a third pair of glowing blood red eyes were looking at you and as they began moving you realized that they belonged to the same creature. You felt as if you would pass out any minute as the dog was sitting up, his three heads following, staring down at you, not turning away from you for just a second as they continued growling at you. 

That was until they realized that Roman was standing next to you. If you hadn’t been so scared, you would have laughed as you realized how that three headed creature was wagging it’s tail as soon as it noticed Roman. One head after the other came down, so he could pat it. You would have never guessed so but next to that hound Roman looked tiny. You heard his amused deep voice as he said: “Behave, we have a guest. He could really use some training. Y/N, may I introduce to you the guardian of my empire. That’s…” You interrupted him as you realized the meaning of his words from before. And you also realized which book you had been reading recently, your eyes opening wider than they should as you whispered: “…the three headed hellhound Cerberus, guardian of the underworld.” You stared at Roman, your voice slightly shaking as you said: “You said he’s your dog, protecting your empire. You are Hades, Lord of the Underworld.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: angst
> 
> Originally published here: https://reignmyworld.tumblr.com/post/181879454236/my-soul-belongs-to-you-part-4-roman-reigns-x

He was nodding his head, a sad smile on his face. You wanted to believe that you were trapped in a bad dream, that it was all just a beautiful nightmare, but you knew that this was indeed real. Actually, you were not one of the faint-hearted but after all that had happened, this was simply too much for you to process. You must have fainted as the next thing you remembered was that you woke up in a comfortable bed in a rather comfy room. You lifted yourself up carefully, looking around, trying to figure out where you were. The room was rather big, its interior primarily of black, violet and golden colors. You were lying on a huge king size bed, a beautiful bed canopy surrounding you. There were huge windows letting in some light while beautiful violet curtains surrounded them. 

You had no idea where you were and it took you a few moments until you remembered everything. Your shift at the coffee shop, Roman’s strange behavior, him telling you that it was time for you to go, that strange cave, that three headed dog, the realization, that hit you when you figured out who he actually was. If you would have been in your own bed now, you would have said that it was just a weird dream, but the reality hit you hard. All of that really happened, your sister indeed magically survived, you sold your soul without knowing it and no matter how often you wanted to file it under rubbish, you had to accept that you apparently were in the underworld now, a place that you loved to read about but were rather certain that it didn’t exist. 

Now that you had the time to sort your thoughts and your feelings, now that you had the time to think about it, you wanted to cry as you felt betrayed. You made a deal, that you didn’t even know, that it was on the table at all. Would you change your decision and not give your life for your sister’s? Of course not, but at least you would have expected to be told the truth. You had to laugh although you sounded anything but amused. Yeah, as if you would have believed anything about this in the first place if someone had bothered to tell you about it. The more you thought about the situation you found yourself in, the more realization hit you. You had read enough about Greek mythology to know what the underworld meant; it was forbidden for a mortal to access it just like it was forbidden for someone dead to leave it. That was what Cerberus was there for, making sure that no living being entered the underworld by accident just like no dead soul was supposed to leave. This meant, that you either shouldn’t be here or that you literally traded your life for your sister’s and that you were actually dead. 

As you thought about it, tears were falling on your cheeks as this was way too much for you to handle. It was not primarily the problem of believing any of that, of accepting it. Sure, you had your problems with that, but you had already read a lot about it, having to admit even back then that you could accept the possibility of all of those myths or legends being true to a certain degree. What you could not handle, however, was the fact, that you were at a place, that you apparently weren’t allowed to leave, a place, where you had to stay, a place, you wouldn’t see your sister and your parents ever again. Before you could think twice you were burying your head into the pillow, crying your eyes out. You had no idea how long you let despair wash over you, had no idea how much time had passed, but as soon as you felt that you could trust your composure you left the bed. You wanted answers, you wanted an explanation for all of this and there was only one person, that could give it to you. 

As you were searching for Roman - Hades - however you should call him, anger started to boil in you. You had no idea why but you felt betrayed, felt as if you had been brought to a place against your will, being forced to stay there. “The rape of Persephone”, you mumbled as you remembered one of the myths, you were reading and your anger grew as you couldn’t help but to notice the parallels. You had no idea where you were, had no idea where you were going. There were countless floors, countless doors leading to countless rooms. By the sheer dimension you would have guessed that this must have been a castle or rather a palace. “Sure where else would the ruler of the underworld live?”, you asked yourself sarcastically as you turned around the next corner, hitting hard against an obstacle. 

Before you could stumble backwards you felt a strong grip around your arm, hearing a familiar deep voice shortly after. „Easy there. You should be in your bed resting and not running around here.“ ,Roman said as he made sure that you wouldn’t fall. You stared at him, exclaiming louder than you wanted to: „You… I want some answers and I deserve them now. And don’t even think about telling me to head back to where I came from.“ He was crooking an eyebrow at you before he shortly nodded his head, stating: „You are right and you shall have them. But not here. We‘re not the only people in this building and I’d rather not have other people listening. Just follow me.“ You had been freeing yourself from his grip in the meantime and started walking behind him as he headed for one of the countless doors. 

When he opened it, you found yourself in what looked like a huge living room. The whole furniture and interior was mostly dark again but it nevertheless looked surprisingly comfy in there. Roman gestured to you that you should sit down on the couch with you following his request while he sat down on the opposite of you in a big chair. Before he had the chance to ask what you wanted to know, you already started: “How dare you bring me here, taking me away from my family? If that’s a contract I have unknowingly signed, fine, so be it. But you at least should have given me a damn head’s up with regard to the terms and conditions.“ 

„Would you have believed me?“ 

„Probably not, but…“ 

„If you knew, would it have changed your opinion? Wouldn’t you still have traded your life for your sister‘s?“ 

„Of course not, I still would have done anything to save her.“ 

„Then I don’t understand your problem now.“, Roman concluded as he studied your face with your anger boiling even more as you hissed: „Are you just playing dumb with me? You don’t understand my problem? You basically took me away from my life, took me away from my family. You didn’t make me aware of it, didn’t give me the chance to adjust to it, didn’t give me the slightest chance to somehow say goodbye to my family. Can you even imagine how they must feel now that I’m suddenly gone as if earth had just sucked me in?! I’m away and they have no clue why. They must be sick of worry just because the god of the underworld decided to be a massive dickhead.“ You talked yourself in fury bit by bit. He crooked an eyebrow at you, wanting to know: „Do you really think that you should talk to me like that? I haven’t made the rules. That’s how it is meant to be. If one soul is supposed to leave, it is my duty to make sure that it arrives here safe and sound. If someone else offers to take that soul’s place, who am I to decline? Besides that, I have asked you whether you really would give your life. You basically had a choice.” 

You shook your head angrily as you snapped: “Yes that’s exactly how I should talk to you. Don’t try to play dumb with me. You run this place here, you make the rules. And how kind of you to ask whether I’m serious. I guess that’s at least one more choice than Persephone had, isn’t it?” You could see how his face darkened as he wanted to know: “What did you just say?”   
“Oh I bet that you understood me pretty clearly. Are you really that desperate that you have to kidnap people instead of giving them a choice?”, you wanted to know enraged with him responding icy: “You shouldn’t talk about things, you have no idea about.” 

“Oh well, I think I know exactly what I am talking about. She may not have traded her soul but you did the same to her like you did to me. You kidnapped her from her mother, brought her to the underworld, where she had to stay for all eternity, just because you had decided that you wanted her. Don’t fucking tell me that this looks like a damn choice. A choice you basically haven’t given me either, even if the circumstances were different. You are a sad example of a god and an even sadder example of a man. I just hope that she had the chance to escape by now.” 

Before you could continue he had jumped out off his chair, having moved over to you, where he was towering you, leaning down, his whole body radiating danger while his face was just inches away from yours as he hissed: “I appreciate that you have studied my story into detail but you shouldn’t believe everything you read. It never happened like that and I sure as hell don’t owe you an explanation. I have saved your sister’s life and you should be forever grateful for that. Life is no fun, decisions, that have to be made, are not always easy. You wanted your sister alive, you have to pay the price for that deal. And now you should shut it before I’m dragging you back to Cerberus, offering you as a little snack for him. You’re a guest in my world, so act like one. And now get up so I can show you everything in your new home.” You locked eyes with him, anger and fear battling for dominance as you got up, pushing him away while doing so. 

As he tried to regain his balance, you snapped: “I don’t give a fuck who you are. I’m not a guest around here, I’m your hostage. This will never be my home. And I want you to know one thing and you better write that down. I’m not Persephone, I won’t kiss your ass in the end, I won’t accept my fate. And if I have to make your every encounter with me miserable, I will gladly do so. You will regret, that you have brought me here without asking for my consent and you will gladly bring me back to my family, because I can assure you that I’m making it hell for you that you have brought me here. You are a lame excuse of a god and it doesn’t surprise me one bit that your family has damned you to rule over the dead because apparently no mortal could deal with your presence.” 

You knew that you were harsh, knew that it wasn’t exactly fair because - apart from taking you to the underworld - he hadn’t been anything but friendly and polite to you, but you couldn’t change it. All of this was way too much. You missed your family, you missed your friends, your job, your life… And being aware of never getting anything of that back, just had the worst of you. 

Before he could say a word, you pushed past him, leaving the room as fast as you could, slamming the door behind you. You rushed back to your room, not giving a single fuck about the beauty of the palace you were staying in nor about what secrets the underworld might have to offer to you. Once you reached your room, you slipped in, locking the door behind you, before you threw yourself on the bed, burying your head into the pillow and crying your eyes out once again. It didn’t take long until you heard a severe knocking at your door, followed by Roman’s deep voice: “Y/N, I can understand that all of this overwhelms you, but locking yourself up in that room, doesn’t help one bit. Just get out of there.” 

“Just fuck off.”, you yelled with him answering annoyed: “Wow pretty mature. I said it before and I say it again. You are a guest here, start acting like one.” You couldn’t help yourself as you shouted back: “I’m your fucking hostage. Stop twisting the reality. And now leave me the fuck alone and let me somehow get used to the fact, that I have to see your sorry ass for the rest of my miserable life down here.” You were sure that he was standing on the other side of the door, probably thinking what he could say next, but whatever it was, he decided against it, as you heard him stomping away. You tried to take a few deep breaths, tried to somehow regain your composure and most of all, you tried to work on a plan how you could leave, how you could be reunited with your family. 

The next days you stuck to your word as you weren’t leaving your room. You were extremely relieved that it had its own bathroom and much to your surprise there was a plate with food in front of your door on a regular basis. Roman had tried to talk to you from time to time but since you ignored him all the time, he seemed to have given up, although you were sure that he was the reason behind the food magically appearing in front of your room.   
As days went by you were thinking about your family, missing them terribly but at the same time you noticed how you calmed down, how you were somehow able to accept being where you were for now. You didn’t want to stay and you sure as hell didn’t want to see Roman, but you nevertheless felt how you turned curious, how you wanted to see where you were, wanted to know how the underworld looked like, wanted to see with your own eyes, whether it was indeed the pitch black hell mythology books wanted to make their readers believe. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally published here: https://reignmyworld.tumblr.com/post/182616345086/my-soul-belongs-to-you-part-5-roman-reigns-x

You carefully moved to your door, listening closely there to make sure that no one was in front of it, before you slowly turned the key, opening the door and peeking outside. The floor was completely empty just as you had hoped and before you could change your opinion, you were slipping outside of the room, making your way through the palace. You were moving as carefully and quietly as you could and you prayed that you wouldn’t run into Roman once again, not willing to even think of him by his real persona. You had no idea where you had to go, had no idea, where the exit was, but eventually after a little eternity you found it. At least you thought that it was, however, when you were opening the double door, you found yourself on a patio and your breath automatically hitched. 

The view in front of you was absolutely breathtaking. Whatever you had expected, it definitely wasn’t that. Whenever you had read about the underworld or hell, you imagined it to be a deadly and horrific place by the descriptions you were given. You thought, that you would hear screams of pain, that you would see suffering, that everything was either pitch black, dark and gruesome or that there would be fire, an unbearable hotness and endless suffering. But what you actually saw? It couldn’t be further from what you had imagined or what those books made you believe. You were staring down at an endless landscape, the grass as green as you had never seen it before, countless roses in front of you with a sky, that couldn’t be more blue. You didn’t really trust your eyes, thinking that all of this must be a beautiful illusion. 

You slowly made your way down, heading down the stairs until you reached the beautiful garden, smelling the typical smell of the roses and all of the other beautiful flowers surrounding you. You carefully touched them, noticing that they were as real as they could be. You wandered around, taking in the beautiful sight in front of you before you left the garden and apparently the borders of the palace, wandering outside of them. The whole landscape portrayed sheer beauty; there were flowers, trees, little houses with people in and in front of them. As you looked closer you realized that they were not of flesh and blood, that you could see through them if you looked closely. Those must have been the souls, that came here to continue their lives in the underworld. If you were honest to yourself, it looked more like a paradise than the cruel hell you always expected when the word “underworld” came to your mind. 

You were so trapped in its beauty that you didn’t realize how someone was moving closer to you until you felt a soft tugging at your hand. When you looked down a little girl, approximately eight years old, smiled up at you, asking: “Are you new here? I’m Lizzy.” You had to smile as well as you answered: “Yes I’m new here. I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you, Lizzy."   
"Nice to meet you, too. You aren’t dead, are you?” You gulped hard as you realized that she obviously was, before you shook your head, saying: “No I am not. Well at least I hope so.“ You looked down at your body, noticing that you still were made of flesh and blood, answering almost too quiet for your own ears: „At least I hope that I’m not. I don’t know.“ You didn’t want to even think of it, didn’t want to accept that fate.  

"But why are you here then?" 

"My sister was close to dying and I have traded my soul for hers without knowing it.” She looked at you with big eyes before she nodded in understanding, a huge smile on her face as she said: “Oh I see. But you are going to love it here Y/N. Everyone around here is really nice and there is nothing to worry about. You just shouldn’t wander alone to certain parts of the underworld since that’s where the bad people have to stay." 

"The bad people?" 

"Yes, people that did hurt others, people that killed others. Just like the man, that is responsible that my family and I are here." 

"You mean…?" 

"He came into our house one night in order to rob us. Daddy tried to stop him and so did Mommy but they couldn’t. He basically sent us here. I don’t know what had happened to him but I had seen him when he was taken to one of the places, I’m not supposed to go." 

"I’m so sorry.”, you said, your heart heavy for that little girl in front of you. “Oh don’t be. We have a beautiful after life here. There’s no pain, no sorrow and we are together. Daddy always says that Hades is a great guy and that we have to be grateful for all that he is doing for us down here. You know giving up his chance to be with the other gods and goddesses  and instead making sure that we are safe down here, that everything is going according to the rules. And he is right. When we came here, I was terribly afraid but Hades made sure that I felt comfortable as he was showing me the underworld, showing me that it was a beautiful place, that I could live here and be together with my family for all eternity. Has he shown you around as well?”, Lizzy asked, a huge grin on her face. You shook your head as you mumbled: “No. To be honest, we are not really on good terms currently." 

"Don’t tell me that he hadn’t been nice to you? If you want me to, I can talk to him.“, she wanted to know, her tiny face angry, causing you to laugh out loud. "Let’s just say that he hadn’t really prepared me for the fact that I had to come with him, that I had to live down here and it caught me off guard.”, you said amused, having to admit that you found that little girl adorable. Once again she nodded her head as if she was understanding it completely, replying: “You are really going to love it here. It’s a beautiful place and Hades is really nice when he doesn’t hate you." 

Before you could answer you heard a woman call for Lizzy in the distance. "That’s my mum. I have to to go. See you later Y/N.”, she squealed before she ran towards her mother. “See you later Lizzy”, you exclaimed before you continued with your initial way, wandering around, Lizzy’s words spinning around your mind. You didn’t really pay attention to where you were going, didn’t really notice that the beautiful landscape vanished until you found yourself in a dead forest, that was surrounded by fog, the trees surrounding you looking creepier and spookier than you could have imagined. 

You had no idea where you were. The air around you was becoming colder, there were lamentation, that seemed to come from all around you. You had no idea how to get back to the palace and the noises you were hearing kind of snowed you, drawing you nearer although you didn’t feel like going there. You wanted to turn back, wanted to return to the safety of the palace and its surrounding gardens but you couldn’t. Your feet dragged you to a different destination, following the painful voices and screeches, that you were hearing. You could feel shivers running down your spine as you were walking through the forest, having the feeling as if thousands of invisible eyes were following you. 

You had no idea what you should do, you didn’t even dare to scream for help as the scenery once again changed. You had stepped out of the forest, not knowing how long you had been wandering through it already and your breath instantly hitched. The part of the underworld you had seen first reminded you of a paradise. It was beautiful, it was full of light, everything was blooming, but this here… It was the exact opposite. It looked like the pits of hell you had always imagined. There were neither flowers nor trees, everything was dark and black. The air was hot, you could barely breathe. And those terrible voices, that were drawing you closer, although everything in you screamed that you should turn around and run away the fastest that you could, you couldn’t escape them. 

Instead you were walking closer to where they came from like you were a puppet on a string. “Help me”, one voice in particular screeched as you were following it. The closer you got the more people you saw, all of them seemed to be in different stages of agony, men and women quite alike. You wanted to help, felt bad for them, but at the same time it smelled like a trap, it felt as if something was off. You knew, that you shouldn’t go further and yet you did. “Come here, help me”, you heard that particular voice once again. 

As soon as you were close enough a hand was grabbing your wrist, holding it tight. “Now you belong to us”, you heard a creepy voice, the hand grabbing you was more skeleton like than human. You tried to free yourself, tried to get away, but you couldn’t as you were drawn closer and closer to that dark pit, that smelled as if thousands of corpses were rotting in there. Fear threatened to overwhelm you as you tried to break free, as you tried to get away from it. “Let go of me”. your voice was barely more than a whisper, your wrist burning like fire. You had no idea where you were, had no idea how you came here but you knew for sure, that you wouldn’t be able to break free, that whatever this thing down there was, it was dragging you in.  
Suddenly that grip around your wrist was gone, a shrill scream could be heard, that made you cover your ears without thinking about it twice. As you looked next to you, you saw Roman standing there, his face furious as he tossed whatever had been grabbing you, back to where it came from. He turned to you, his voice angrier than it should be as he wanted to know: “What the hell are you doing out here?” You were still shaking as you snapped back: “What? I thought I was a guest and not a hostage… Which would mean that I am free to run around.” You could watch as he calmed down, his voice rather concerned now as he answered: “Yes and I meant it like that. Sure, you are free to wander around, but there was a reason why I wanted to show you the underworld first. Certain places down here can be dangerous and I meant to stick to my promise that nothing will happen to you." 

You wanted to scold him, wanted to tell him off, but you realized how massively unfair that would have been, hence why you took a deep breath instead, saying: "I’m sorry. I mean for running around here, for behaving like I have done. The whole thing. It was just too much to handle I guess.” He gave you one of his irresistible smiles as he answered: “No offense taken. I can absolutely understand that this must be overwhelming. And I’m really sorry, that I had to take you down here like that. I guess I just thought I would scare you less that way. I guess I have been terribly wrong." 

"Yeah you could have prepared me a little bit better I would say.”, you said, a tiny smile on your face, adding shortly after: “Does the offer of showing me the underworld still stand?" 

"Absolutely”, he answered amused before he gestured you to follow him, leading you back through that creepy forest. You watched him from the side as you wanted to know: “So is one of those superpowers a god possesses to know where all people are throughout every single second?” You could hear his deep chuckle as he answered: “I’m afraid we are not as cool as that. The truth is, that we have something like employees, people and spirits, that are making sure, that everything is going according to plan, informing us if things are slightly off.” You nodded your head, asking: “So one of those spirits found me?" 

"No, it was your little friend telling me where you went as I was searching for you.” You had to think about it for a few moments, before a smile appeared on your face, wanting to know: “Lizzy?" 

"Lizzy”, he confirmed amused. You stayed silent for a few moments before you said, your voice sadder than before: “She and her family had been killed, haven’t they?" 

"Yes they had. Rather brutally to be honest. I know, that it’s actually nothing I should talk about but her father had to watch her mother being raped and killed like he had to watch Lizzy getting killed before that scum of society slit his throat.“, Roman answered with you hissing outraged: "I hope that their murderer rots in hell." 

"He does. And he almost dragged you in." 

"That creature, that was holding my wrist…?“ 

"Was their murderer, yes. He probably somehow knew that you made Lizzy’s acquaintance, getting a certain kick of bewitching you. That was the second time I’ve tossed him in there personally and if he asks for it, I will do so a third and a fourth.” You wanted to say something else, wanted to ask him how he can handle his life down here, but instead Roman let you know: “I guess I should tell you a few things about this whole place here first. The underworld is a realm, that is only visible for the dead, made solely for them. No living could ever find it and if they do for whatever reasons, Cerberus is there to hold them back." 

"But I’m here.”, you said before you added: “Does this mean that I am dead?” You feared his answer, but you simply had to know. „No, you are very much alive.“, he smiled at you, saying: "Although I have to stick to the rules down here, I nevertheless make them. I can alter them to a certain degree but I can’t apply them to some people and not to others. Since you traded your soul for your sister’s, I brought you here as one, meaning your body and your soul are still connected. You’re as alive as I am. Sometimes exceptions have to be made.” You didn’t ask what he meant as you listened closely what he was telling you. “When I brought you here, I basically skipped a part. Cerberus protecting the gates of the underworld was not the real entrance. I didn’t want to scare you, so I haven’t started at the very entrance but we can go there if you want to. Before you can enter the underworld, you are greeted by spirits, that are supposed to scare every living away, that should find the entrance to the underworld. If you come that far you will meet grief, anxiety, diseases, old age, fear, agony, death and sleep. Besides that, there are many beasts like centaurs, gorgons, the Lernaean Hydra or Harpies guiding the entrance. Souls, that are on their way to the underworld, will be brought to Cerberus by my loyal Ferryman Charon, who brings them either over the river Acheron or the river Styx." 

While he was talking, Roman led you back to the beautiful landscapes you had been coming from and you listened closely, comparing everything he was telling you with the knowledge you thought you had gathered from your books. "Is it true, that the underworld is surrounded by six rivers?”, you wanted to know with Roman chuckling as he answered: “I see you have really studied that book. But no, there are only five main rivers. You have Styx, the river of hatred, circling the underworld seven times. There’s Acheron, the river of pain, Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, Phlegethon, the river of fire and Cocytus, the river of wailing. Whatever you are doing, don’t go into them, don’t drink from them… Acheron makes you feel pain, Lethe makes you forget everything. They stick by their name.“ 

You nodded your head, wanting to know: "Once a soul passes Cerberus, what then? Is it allowed to wander free?” Roman shook his head as he continued: “No. Since you were fainting, you unfortunately couldn’t see what was happening then. Come on, follow me.” You didn’t dare to ask where you were going but just minutes later you saw Cerberus’ back in front of a massive gate while a lot of souls passed through it. 

“Have they…? I mean…”, you started with Roman nodding as if he knew what you wanted to ask: „Yes, all of them have recently died. I know that there is a lot of different religions out there but no matter what people believe, there is only one underworld. Everyone that dies, ends up here, no matter your culture, country, religion. Those souls coming down here… They have died of war, old age, suicide, homicide, accidents… They are all coming down here in this one place. Come on.“, you felt his hand on your back as he was guiding you closer, so you could see what was going on. 

He didn’t let go of you probably fearing that you might faint again. You couldn’t turn your eyes away as you noticed that the souls were heading towards three people, that sent out an aura of authority. "Are those the judges?”, you whispered as Roman nodded his head, explaining: “Yes as soon as the souls arrive here they are at the mercy of Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus, which decide the fate of the souls, sending them to one of technically three bigger areas down here in the underworld.“ Before he could continue, you wanted to know: "Do you have any say in this?" 

"Of course, I do. But I’m trusting them and their judgement. There was never a case where I had to interfere, where I had to make their decision obsolete, although I’m basically looking at every choice they are making.“

"Isn’t that a lot of work?”, you asked skeptical, causing him to chuckle as he answered: “Yes it is, but since it is my only purpose in life and the underworld doesn’t run itself, it is okay.” You were curious, wanted to know what was with Persephone but you didn’t dare to ask. Somehow you didn’t really want to make her acquaintance although it was you that had mentioned her a couple of days ago.“What happens to them now?”, you asked with Roman explaining: “As already mentioned, the judges choose now where the souls are sent to. It is taken into account how they have behaved while they were alive, what kind of people they were, how they treated others, how they treated animals etc. Wealth and money doesn’t count down here, it is your character and your treatment of others as well as how much good you had done, that decides where you are sent to. If they choose a soul for Elysium, it has to drink from Lethe first, so it forgets anything of its former life and can live a restful and stress-free afterlife." 

"Why don’t you leave them their memories?”, you wanted to know. Roman gave you a sad smile, replying: “Because it would hurt them too much. They should be able to live a peaceful life here and don’t need to be reminded of their past lives or the way they died." 

"But maybe they want to remember. Maybe they don’t want to forget the people close to them, the people they loved, the life they have left?”, you mentioned, thinking about your own past, that seemed to be so long ago. Roman must have heard the sadness in your voice as he answered: “Don’t worry Y/N. It’s not like that. Take a look at Lizzy. Once a soul’s family member, friend, wife or husband, you name it… Once they arrive here said soul will remember them, will remember the beautiful life they had shared. It is basically just a limited time, that they would forget about that to lessen their pain. It is my duty to make sure that they will recognize and remember each other once they meet again.” Your heart immediately went light when you heard those words. That indeed sounded like paradise to you. “That sounds beautiful”, you smiled with Roman returning it as he stated: “It is. Inside of Elysium there is the Isles of the Blessed. It would be too complicated to explain it now in detail but under certain circumstances you are granted access to the Isles of the Blessed, that grants unending bliss. There’s another area, that consists of the Mourning Fields and the Fields of Punishment. The Mourning Fields are inhabited by those souls, that wasted their lives on unrequited love. I know, that it sounds harsh but those souls going there are not bad. They even have been granted access to the Elysium but for whatever reason, that only they know, they decided that they didn’t want to drink from Lethe, that they didn’t want to forget their past life but they would rather spend their eternity mourning what they had lost. This Field just like the Field of Punishment is located close to the forest we had passed before. The Field of Punishment is full of those souls, that had committed crimes, that were mostly bad during their lifetime. Those souls aren’t forgetting their old lives either as they shall remember what they are getting punished for. It’s a task I don’t exactly love but it is my job to decide on their punishment, just as I can grant them absolution when I’m of the opinion that they fully regret, what they had done. In that case I can send them to Elysium after all if they paid their dues. The place, I have found you before, is the worst form of the Field of Punishment." 

You shivered once again as you whispered: "That was Tartarus, wasn’t it?” Roman nodded his head and without thinking about it twice he was pulling you closer, whispering: “Tartarus is the most terrible place in the whole underworld. It’s not really belonging here but it’s rather a place far beneath the underworld. It is dark through and through, the fiery water of Phlegethon is running down there. Being in Tartarus equals pure terror and horrific pain. Only the worst souls like the murderer of Lizzy’s family end up down there. Sometimes they try to find their way out, sometimes they make it to the surface, but as soon as they reach it, I’m tossing them back in right away. I’m just so sorry that he got his hand on you.” You were gulping hard as you rubbed over your wrist. 

You didn’t want to think about it so you asked: “What’s the third place?” Roman studied your face for some more moments but whatever he wanted to say, he decided against it, as he answered instead: “Those are the Fields of Asphodel, basically that area, where people head to, that wanted to remember their past, and people that were not good enough for Elysium, as stupid as this sounds. It is the area surrounding the palace.” You thought about it before you wanted to know: “So this means that Lizzy and her family were not good enough for Elysium?” Roman had to smile as he realized how shocked you sounded. “No, this just means that a soul down here has a saying in where it wants to be. The judges make their choice but that doesn’t mean, that a soul doesn’t have a free will. If a soul is allowed to enter Elysium but wants to stay in the Fields of Asphodel, it is free to do so. If a soul is sent to the Fields of Punishment, it has no other choice than to go there. People, that have been good in their lifetime, can decide here as well." 

This statement somehow really calmed you down.  Before you could say anything else there was an uproar in front of the judges as some souls didn’t seem to be happy with where the judges were sending them. "Seems as if there is work to do. How about you head back to the palace while I take care of this matter? I will catch up with you once I am done here and will answer every possible question you have then.”, Roman’s deep voice asked, locking eyes with you. You scolded yourself as you had the feeling of drowning in them, trying to keep a clear thought as you answered: “Okay. I’m trying not to get lost again.” You heard his heartfelt laugh as he replied: “I really hope so.” With that he turned around, heading for the gate while you were staring after him. You still couldn’t process any of that but he was right with one thing. When he was around you, you felt safe. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none
> 
> Originally published here: https://reignmyworld.tumblr.com/post/183456710626/my-soul-belongs-to-you-part-6-roman-reigns-x

You headed back for the palace but before you could enter it, you noticed a huge stable nearby. Since you loved animals of any kind, you were way too curious to just ignore it, hence why you walked towards it, entering just shortly after. Just like the palace the stable was bigger than you had ever seen it before. You entered it quietly, asking “Hello?” into the silence. You did not really expect someone to be there,  but you nevertheless wanted to be rather safe than sorry. You were walking over the floor, peeking into the boxes with all of them being empty. Just as you wanted to turn around and leave again, you heard the typical noise of horses, causing you to head into the direction, you initially wanted to go to. 

When you reached the end of the stable, you noticed horses as beautiful as you had never seen them before. They were huge, not creature like huge, but bigger than normal horses nevertheless. Their skin was pitch black, their eyes were glowing red just like the ones of Cerberus. There were four of them and every single one was beyond majestic. They let you come nearer, eyeing you curiously, trying to figure out why a mortal would be near them. „Hey there“, you whispered, absolutely bewitched by their beauty. Although three of them kept their distance, one was drawing nearer to you, sinking its head so you could pat it. „You are a beautiful creature, aren’t you?“, you whispered as you were carefully stroking its head with the horse holding your gaze before it leant its head into the palm of your hand, closing its eyes as if he wanted to show you how much he was enjoying your touch. 

„As I can see, you have already met Alastor.“, you heard a deep voice and as you turned your head, you looked at Roman‘s amused face. That name rang a bell and you suddenly remembered it. Of course, who else should they be. „The war horses of Hades: Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nycteus and Alastor.“ You could see, that he was impressed by you knowing about them. He slowly moved over to you, his horse dropping its relaxed mannerism immediately. „Is he afraid of you?“, you wanted to know as you watched Alastor‘s behavior. Roman shook his head, answering: „Not at all. Actually he’s the wildest one of the four of them. Not even I can really tame him. It doesn’t matter who‘s around Alastor always wants to show, that he is the boss. The fact, that he let you near him, that he let you pat him, is absolutely fascinating.“ He was eyeing you intensely and you couldn’t help but shift under his glance. You had no idea, where that thought came from, but you suddenly felt a fit of jealousy when you imagined, that this must have been the look he was looking at Persephone with on a regular basis. 

Roman made you snap out of your thoughts as he said, now standing next to you: “It seems as if he really likes you.“ You gulped hard, before you smiled up at him, patting Alastor‘s head again as he had leant down once again in the meantime, stating: „Well, what a coincidence, I really like him as well.“ Alastor was nickering loudly, causing you to laugh out loud as you said: “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” With him closing his eyes once again, completely enjoying your hand caressing his head. You had never seen such a beautiful horse like Alastor before. “You know what? It seems as if he had chosen you. So if you want him, he will be yours.”, Roman said amused as you looked at him with big eyes. “You’re giving me your horse?”, you wanted to know rather shocked. Roman was shrugging his shoulders, replying: “Actually, one of my horses, but yes. I mean, I can understand, that it must be anything else but easy for you down here and if Alastor can paint at least a tiny smile on your face, I’m gladly giving him to you. Besides that, I’m pretty sure that he prefers you over me anytime, am I right?” 

As if he had understood every word Roman was saying Alastor once again nickered loudly before he pushed his head against yours, causing you to laugh out loud once again. “I would really love to accept that generous gift, but I can’t.”, you said. “Oh believe me, you can. He’s all yours”, Roman winked at you and before you could stop yourself, you were hugging him, mumbling: “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I should say.”

He was taken by surprise, not really knowing what he should do, so he went with his first impulse and held you close as he whispered: “You don’t have to say anything. Seeing you happy is enough.“  You couldn’t even tell how long you were staying in this position with Roman holding you close to his body while Alastor was eyeing the both of you curiously, but somehow you reminded yourself that, no matter how generous of a gift that was and no matter how polite and friendly Roman had been, it was him nevertheless that brought you down here. Yes, he saved your sister but he could have told you about the consequences in advance at least. You were shifting away from him, bringing some distance between the both of you as you mumbled: “Sorry about that.” You saw a sad smile on his face as he answered: “No problem. I like the fact, that you are impulsive like that.” You had no idea what exactly he meant, so you just filed it under compliment. 

You must have stared at him as you could hear his deep voice ask: “What is it?” You shook your head as you mumbled: “I have read about this place. I mean I was fascinated with the concept of an Underworld existing but I would have never imagined it to be real. And yet I’m here. I’m not quite sure whether I can get used to that. Has there ever been a mortal in the Underworld before? I mean someone that is still alive, someone, whose soul is still attached to its body? And I’m not talking about gods or goddesses here.” 

“You mean someone that was supposed to stay and not just paid a visit like Orpheus?” You nodded your head with Roman answering: “No, you are the only one, that has ever been in that position.” You couldn’t wrap your head around all of this. Due to being used to it you started pacing around with the war horses eyeing you curiously. You tried to understand it, tried to make sense out of any of this, but you somehow couldn’t. Given the fact, that you traded your soul for your sister’s, that you gave your life for hers without knowing it, should actually mean that you were dead. At least when you counted one and one together and yet you received confirmation again that you were very much alive. There was one important question on your mind that you needed to have answered. 

Suddenly you stopped in your tracks, turning to Roman in order to lock eyes with him as you wanted to know: “Why?” He seemed to be legitimately confused as he asked: “Why what exactly?” 

“Why am I still alive? You said that you took my life respectively my soul for my sister’s. How can I still be alive? Why am I not like all of the other souls down here?” He crooked an eyebrow, questioning: “Would you prefer to be dead? Would you prefer your soul and your body not being one anymore?”   
“Of course not. Who wants to be dead?” 

“Then why is it of so much importance to you why you aren’t like any other soul around here?” 

“Because I would like to understand it. I would like to understand why you apparently altered the rules down here. I would like to know why I’m the first mortal, that has to stay in the Underworld while still being alive. I just want to understand it, that is all.”, you stated, crossing your arms in front of your chest, waiting for his answer. “Let’s just say that you were a special case and I had my reasons to alter the rules the way I did. This should be enough as an explanation.”, Roman replied with you shaking you head, groaning: “That doesn’t answer my question. Not in the slightest. I still have no explanation. I…” 

Before you could continue, you heard his deep voice: „That is the only explanation I can give you. Just accept it and be glad that you are still very much alive.” You wanted to snap at him, wanted to urge him to an explanation but you knew that it wouldn’t make much sense. Just like in the beginning you were aware that he was a book with seven seals and now that you knew his real persona, that secret and mystery surrounding him had even more increased. „I don’t like it but I fear that I don’t have much choice than to accept it as of now. But sooner or later I want an explanation, so you better prepare for that.“, you stated as a matter of fact, not really caring that you were talking to the Lord of the Underworld. You could see a little smile on his lips as he answered: „ Okay, I got you Y/N.“ 

You nodded as if you had achieved a victory before you turned back to the horse, that now belonged to you, patting it one last time, whispering: „As if we wouldn’t get behind the real reason. What do you say, Alastor?“ The horse somehow snickered and you had to laugh out loud as you added: „I see, we understand each other.“ Roman cleared his throat in order to take your attention away from the horse. You looked at him with a crooked eyebrow as he already said: “I have promised to show you around and make you familiar with the world down here. So if you still want to, we can pick up where we had left.” You thought about it for a second. If you were honest, you were pretty curious by now what kind of place the underworld was and what secrets it held. With a tiny smile you answered: “I would love to.” With one last “See you soon Alastor” you followed Roman out of the stable while he led you back to the palace. 

As you were walking in a slow pace you wanted to know: “What was that chaos before? The one you had to interfere I mean.“ 

“Just the usual one.”, he laughed his deep laugh and you had to admit that you could listen to that for the whole day. “Do you want to be even more mysterious than you already are or do you want to let me know what the usual chaos down here is?”, you chuckled, causing him to wink at you before he answered: “I guess I have surrounded myself with more than enough secrets already. There were a few souls the judges sent to the Fields of Punishment due to their misbehavior during their lifetime. Said souls, however, were of the opinion that they deserved another treatment, that they had been good enough to be able to stay somewhere else for their eternity here. They basically labeled their deeds as forgivable failures.” 

“Do I want to know what kind of misbehavior we are talking about?” 

“Probably not, no. Let’s just say, that any court would have sentenced them to a life in jail respectively that’s where they had stayed already. It seems that a lot of souls think that their terrible deeds will be erased as soon as they arrive down here, which certainly is not the case. If they wreak havoc and cause mayhem in front of the judges I’m called to help them out.” You looked at him, fascinated by what he was telling you. “Does this happen often? I mean that you have to step in?” 

“On a regular basis, actually.”, Roman answered and you couldn’t really tell whether there was a sadness in his voice, that shouldn’t be there or not. You continued walking in silence, reaching the palace just shortly after. You walked up the stairs with Roman holding the door open for you. Before you entered, your eyes wandered around, taking in the beautiful scenery in front of you. “A penny for your thoughts.”, Roman suddenly whispered, a little smile appearing on your face as you answered: “I would have never thought that I would say this, especially not after the last couple of days, but the underworld really is a beautiful place. At least judging from what I have seen until now.” 

“It can be overwhelming, I guess. But I promise you that you’re going to like it down here.” Once again you saw those irresistible smile on Roman’s face. You cursed yourself as you realized, that your heartbeat was beating slightly faster. After all it was the Lord of the Underworld, the god of the dead that you were talking to. You cleared your throat, giving him a mischievous grin before you said: “Don’t make any promises that you can’t keep. God or not, that’s not acceptable.” You winked at him before you entered the palace, causing him to shake his head in amusement. You were not 100% certain but you thought that you heard him mumble: “Thank me that not all mortals are like her.” You couldn’t help but grin as you walked deeper into the palace, Roman following on your heels. As you reached the corridor to your room, you turned round almost crashing into him. 

Before you could say a word, he was already asking: “You must be starving, aren’t you?” You wanted to decline but your belly betrayed you by making an obvious sound, so you unwillingly admitted: “I guess. Do gods actually have to eat?” 

“Absolutely. It would be a shame if we didn’t have to. Especially given how much good food exists. Since it’s almost getting dark, dinner time is drawing nearer. It would be a honor for me if you would like to join me. That is if you want to of course.” Were you imagining it or did that big and mysterious man in front of you look rather nervous? You scolded yourself for that ridiculous thought, trying to make your decision. Everything down here was still so overwhelming for you and you were still holding a slight grudge against Roman for how he had taken you to the Underworld, on the other hand he had only be polite and friendly to you and you were really close to starving. Besides that, having him as a company for dinner didn’t sound like a bad idea as you remembered that he was not only a great storyteller but also a great listener and now that you at least knew who he really was those stories might have been even more interesting than they had been before. No, having dinner with him indeed didn’t sound like such a bad idea after all. “I would love to.”, you smiled up at him with Roman returning it equally. “Perfect. Is it okay for you to come to the porch at 8pm?” 

“Absolutely.” 

“I’m looking forward to it. I would really love to show you around even more but I have to catch up on a few tasks that I have neglected. I’ll see you at 8pm then.” With that he started to head in the opposite direction, leaving you back rather amused as his exits surely were out of the blue. Before you could head for your room, however, Roman was stopping in his tracks, turning back to you, saying: “Oh and Y/N?” 

“Yeah?”, you wanted to know curiously with him replying: “If you want to have something specific for dinner just say it out loud and you will get it.”   
“Is this a fancy trick down here?” 

“No but they will know.” 

You must have looked extremely puzzled as you heard his deep chuckle before he explained: “The souls and spirits wandering in this palace. They will hear you.” 


End file.
